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Why is that whenever you see a recipe with the finished cookies pictured and then try to duplicate those cookies they never come out "just right"? It's like the fast food commercials that tempt you with a big juicy hamburger perfectly sitting on a fresh bun and when you actually purchase the burger, what you get is a shriveled piece of meat stuck between two flattened pieces of bun!

Do you want your chocolate chip cookies to come out soft and chewy every single time? The secret to perfect chocolate chip cookies is really very simple! And you can make them with any chocolate chip recipe at your disposal.

The problem with most chocolate chip cookie recipes is they have you drop a spoonful on a cookie sheet and bake them for 9 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. That is too long! By the time the tops are golden brown, your bottoms are dark brown, or worse, burnt. After the cookies have baked this long, removing them from the oven in this over-baked condition and having them stand only causes them to harden up like jawbreakers. Instead of soft, chewy cookies that melt in your mouth, you end up with hard, crunchy cookies with burnt bottoms.

Dropping larger amounts on the cookie sheet to make bigger cookies doesn't work. It takes longer for the middle of the cookie to bake and you still end up with burnt bottoms and hard cookies.

Instead of following the recipe instructions to bake 9 to 12 minutes, underbake your cookies by a couple of minutes. The first time you try this, you will have to play around with the time and the size of your cookie drops to get the perfect chocolate chip cookie for your oven. But, as a general rule, after you put your cookie tray in your oven (always on the top rack), set your timer for 6 to 8 minutes. When you pull your cookies out, the entire top should NOT be golden brown. Instead, the peaks of the top of the cookie should just be turning brown. At this time, the entire bottom of your cookie is golden brown and the rest of cookie is the same color as the batter.

Remove the cookie tray from the oven and let them stand for a minute or so since the cookies will be incredibly soft and will fall apart if you try to immediately remove them from the cookie sheet. After they have firmed up a bit, remove them from the cookie sheet to your cooling rack or a piece of wax paper.

With this method, you are guaranteed to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookies and have people asking you what YOUR secret is!

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until peaks in top of cookie are starting to brown. Let stand for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks or wax paper to cool completely.